Strangers to Friendship, Friendship to Love
by waterwolf1597
Summary: Gaara and Sakura met at age five and were the best of friends until her return to Konoha, at the Chunin exams they rekindled their frienship, at sixteen Gaara and Sakura meet after his rescue from the Akatsuki, during that encounter friendship evolved from friendship to love. Two years later Gaara requests Sakura to come and train Suna's medics. Sparks will fly. rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**_

_**P.S. I'll be doing the back stories in different chapters because this chapter would be far to long. Here's the first chapter.**_

Ch. 1: Past Encounters part 1

12 years ago.

Sakura's mother had ran away with her to Suna. Though sitting in a room by yourself wasn't much fun so Sakura had opted to leave a note and go play in the nearby park. When she got there she only found one other person there, a little red haired boy about her age having a muttered argument with himself and tears running down his cheeks. Cautiously approaching the boy she asks "Why are you crying?"

Startled the boy looks at her with wounded turquoise deer eyes. He quietly replies "Because nobody wants (sniff) to play with (sniff) me."

"Why wouldn't some one want to play with you I bet your a nice." Sakura replies smiling.

"I try but everyone here knows what I am."

"What are you?"

"I'm a...a Ji...I'm just different."

"Me too, but do you want to know somthing? Being different isn't always a bad thing."

"I killed my mother."

"My dad nearly killed my older brother in a fit of rage, when he was trying to stop my parents from fighting."

"Yeah thats pretty bad. I'm Gaara, whats your name?"

"I'm Sakura." she replies smile brightening.

Gaara's lips start to twich into a smile then a cloud of confusion passes over his face and asks "You said you were different but how are you different?"

"I can turn into a tree and eventually into anything I want." Sakura says shruging.

"Wow, I can control sand."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Can you show me?"

"Only if you show me what you look like."

"Alright, but I can only turn into a tree right now."

"That's okay you can show me what you look like as everything else when you can turn into them." He smiled at her.

"It's a promise." she smiles nervously and looks around desciding it's safe she stands completely still raises her face, eyes closed, and arms sky ward. Her skin turns into bark and her hair into sakura blossoms. Her arms and fingers transformed to branches with smaller branches sprouting from her fingers. Blossoms started blooming from the smaller branches making a small yet beautiful canopie of shade from the harsh desert sun.

"You look amasing." He says in awe.

Then some of the blossoms start to fall and twirl in the air though there was no brease. The flowers start to create a form. Soon a little Sakura was made of sakura blossoms. She blushed and smiled at him and said "Thanks, I don't hear that often from anyone but my mom. And now it's your turn."

"Alright but you might not want to stand so close, I might hurt you by accident." he says a little nervous.

She nods seriously then the blossoms return to the tree, and the tree returns to a little girl. Who takes a few steps back just to be on the safe side.

Gaara raised one hand like he was holding a baseball single handedly, and at this motion sand rose from the ground into a similar form only taller then him. Gaara hears a gasp from behind him and he turns to see an awestruck Sakura. He looks down at the ground blushing, sand returning to the ground. "That was awesome." says Sakura with admiration shining in her eyes.

"Th...tha...thanks." he said giving her a lopsided grin.

"Your welcome." she smiles.

"GAARA!", "SAKURA!" shout two worried voices.

They turn and see Sakura's mom and Gaara's uncle running towards them.

"That's your mom?" he asks.

"Yep. That's your dad?" she asks in return.

"No my uncle on my mother's side."

"Now I know where you get your good looks from."

"Uh...thanks, and now I know where yours come from." he stammers out, his cheeks tinting pink.

"Thank you." she blushes in return.

"Gaara are you blushing?" asks his uncle raising a quizical brow.

"No." says Gaara blushing even more.

"So you must be Gaara. Hi I'm Elppa I'm Sakura's mom."

"You must be Sakura. I'm Yashimaru I'm Gaara's uncle."

"Hi." reply the two kids simultainiously.

Sakura looks at her mom and smiles deviously and her mom nods and Sakura looks back at Gaara and says "Run." The two take off running and Elppa turns to Yashimaru and hits his shoulder saying "Tag your it." and running away herself leaving a confused Yashimaru in her wake.

Shaking off his confusion he starts chasing after Sakura. He looks for her but can't find her giving up on finding her, he goes looking for Gaara and Elppa. He finds Gaara sitting in the upper branches of a tree with white flowers. Yashimaru smirks and lays a hand against the tree. The moment his hand touches the tree Gaara flips out of the tree and starts running away again. Confused he stairs after his nephew not noticing the the flowers creating the form of Elppa behind him. "Yashimaru I sugest you run." She says from behind him.

He turns and sees Elppa made of apple blossoms with that sight he turns and sprints after Gaara. Laughing Elppa goes off in search of her daughter. She spots her sakura tree under the play structure. Kneeling down near her she places a hand on Sakura's trunk and murmers "Your it Saku-chan." Then she gets up and runs away.

Sakura manifests into blossoms and dashes off in search of Gaara. She finds him watching out for who ever was it. Sakura sneaking up behind him taps him on the shoulder saying "Your it."

She dashes away from him. She was able to run about ten yards before she started screaming. Gaara worried runs up and asks "What's wrong?"

"Some one is breaking the smaller branches from my tree." she wimpers

"I'll be right back I'm going to make sure that they stop."

"Okay."

"Where is your tree?"

"Under the play structure. Please hurry I don't know if I can take much more."

"I will." He says racing off to the play structure where three girls were snapping off twigs coverd with sakura blossoms.

"Hey what do you three think you're doing?" he asked his voice filled with anger.

Upon hearing his voice the girls spun around, droped the twigs and ran away screaming. Walking over to the twigs he delicately picks them up and takes them to Sakura.

"Can you reatach them?"

"At the tree yes, from here no."

"Well then let's get you back to the tree."

Slowly and gentily they walk back to Sakura's tree. Sitting there was a little girl with waist length curly brown hair, around her neck was a canteen. She unscrewed the cap and watered the tree. Sighing and getting up to walk away she spots them. Seeing Sakura in her Nymph form she smiles and turn into her own, only instead of it being flower petals it was water. The girl sees the small branches in Gaara's arms and glares at him. "What did you do?" snaps the girl.

"I didn't do anything. I stopped some little girls from breaking off to rest of the branches." he snaps back his chest puffing up.

The girl smiles again and asks "Well then do you want some help putting those back on?"

"Uh...sure." he says confused.

He and Sakura cotinue to the tree the other girl supporting Sakura so Gaara could hold the branches better. Once there the other girl brings Sakura right up to the tree and turns to Gaara and says "On the count of three toss those branches up in the air as she reunites herself with her tree, and they'll just pop back into place."

"Okay, on three then. One...Two...Three!"

Gaara tosses the twigs into the air and Sakura reunites/falls into her tree, and like the girl said they just popped into place. Sakura turns from her tree form back into her human one and says "Thanks for the help. What's your name?"

"I'm Sequoya. You two are?" replies the girl who had reverted back to her human form.

"Oh I'm Sakura and he's Gaara." smiles Sakura

"I hate to seem rude or anything, but what are you?" asks Gaara.

"Yeah I've been wondering that myself." says Sakura

"Me? I'm a shapeshifter. Some mythological, mostly animal though most slightly larger then most." says Sequoya with a smile.

From that point on those three were best friends they wanderd around Suna and having fun. Their fun was short lived. One month after their first encounter Sakura was had just entered her and her mother's appartment. It was unusually quiet inside so she goes and looks for her mom. And she finds her laying in the ground with her throat ripped out and a rosette wolf the seize of a large horse with her mothers green blood dripping from it's fangs. Slowly it looks up from it's kill and at Sakura. It staired at her with her father's eyes, and she knew that the wolf standing infront of her was her father and that he'd killed her mother for running away with her. She also knew that he was there to bring her back to Konoha. In one last effort to make sure someone found her mom Sakura screamed as loud as she could.

Her father snarled an pounced on knocking her on her side and picking her up by the back of her shirt and raced out of the appartment and building. Once outside he practicly flew to the gate. Half way there he stumbled and fell dropping Sakura and flipping arse over tea kettle and finnally landing on his side, he takes a moment to catch his breath then roles to his stomach to get up. What he saw shocked him. He saw the sands Jinchuriki standing protectively in between him and his daughter. Growling he prepares to pounce again when Sakura delicately places a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "It's okay. He's my dad." she says.

"The guy who almost killed your brother?" he asks.

"Yeah and my mom just know but my brother was an accident and mom was because a mate isn't supposed to leave them especially with a pup, doing so is punishable by death. Mom knew this but she ran anyway. Dad didn't have a choice, if he didn't someone else would have been sent to kill her."

"But what'll happen to you?"

"I'll be okay dad's the alpha so I won't be harmed."

"And us? What happens to us?"

"I'll write if you promise to write back. One letter per day and send them all at the end of the week."

"I promise."

"I promise too."

With that she walked over to her father but before she got on his back she turned back to face Gaara and said "You know I love you right?"

Stunned by her words Gaara said the first thing that popped into his head "I do now."

Sakura smiled and climbed onto her dad's back. Her father stood and walked off in the direction of Konoha.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Naruto or the characters.(**_**Shukaku,**_ _Gaara_**)**

Ch.2 Past Encouters part 2

7 years ago.

It's been eight years since Sakura left me standing there watching as my first and only friend leave. The first five years had absolute torture, Sakura had promised to write but never sent any letters. Until finnaly an barn owl came with a bundle of eight letters, in the middle of supper with my father, on my plate and in my food. At the sight of the owl, father lunged for it and the letters. The bird took flight long enough for him to miss then land on his back and extend one leg at a time for the letters to be removed. I opened the letter on top it read:

_My Dearest Gaara,_

_I hope that after you receive these letters I will finnally get a respons from you. In reading this I hope you realise I never abbandonned you, if it felt that way I'm so sorry it was never my intent._

_I can hardly remember the small and now insignifagant things I wrote to you when we were younger. The letters I sent you I know made it at least to Suna. Why they never reached you I have a slight guess, but I could be wrong. I think your father has been intersepting our letters for the past five years making it seem like I broke my promise. Please believe me I have writen once a day at the end of the day and mailed them all at once at the end of the week._

_It's getting late here and I had a long day training with dad and Seqouya. I ache all over. Not that I'm complaining. Okay I'm complaining, they're beasts horrible mosterous beasts! _

_Good night Gaara. -Sequoya_

_Ever sinceirly, Sakura_

_P.S. the birds name is Thorin, I still love you._

_**Kill him for keeping us from our blossom.**_ Snarls Shukaku.

_I agree. But I'd rather meet her again on the right side of the human law. Don't you agree? _I inquire.

_**Yes.**_ He agrees grudgingly

After reading it I set the others aside and looked at my father emotionlessly and said "Where are the rest of them? And for your sake they'd better be still intact."

"They're in a secret compartment in my office." replies father.

"You have one hour to fetch them if you don't there will be dire consiquences."

He did as told and after his return I retreated to my room and read every single letter Sakura had ever wrote.

_**Falling in love boy?**_asks Shukaku

_No. Well not in that sense yet anyway. Would it be so bad if I did fall for her?_

_**No, 'cause she's got one damn fine Inner self.**_ comments Shakaku.

_In love with her already are you? _I ask.

_**No. Not yet anyway. I'm just looking forward to being with her again.**_ he says filling my mind with all the lust filled thoughts of the things he wanted to do to Inner Sakura.

_Virgin mind and I'd like to keep it that way for a while if you don't mind._

_**Shut up and finish reading the letters. Then we can write them back.**_ Gaara turned to the letters she wrote for that week she was fine trained and had surpassed the others at her academy though they didn't know it. Sequoya was was teaching her how to bend the elements, she was teaching her air first, since it was her birth element, water next, earth after that and finnally fire. Her dad was helping her unlock all of her other form and that she now was up to her seventh form. At the end of each letter she always wrote the words 'I still love you', it warmed his long forgotten heart that she still cared after all this time.

A/N: sorry it's so short.


End file.
